Untamed Homebrew

Untamed Wilds History:

Many years ago, the giants saved bits of life from a great cataclysm. The giants made three islands within a relatively safe area of the world and helped nurture the creatures they saved. The first island had humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and half orcs living in relative peace until one of the giants betrayed his siblings by destroying one of their cities with an army of monsters he had snuck into the sanctuary. The giants bound their wayward brother to the bottom of the ocean and scattered his forces and life has seemingly returned to normal.

The second island became home to the wilder peoples. Fey, satyrs, cat folk, lizardmen, minotaur, centaur, and goliaths lived in harmony under the protection of a nature goddess, Ellendriana. Ellendriana’s continent was contested at first by a tribe of evil giants that staked claim to its riches. Their champion was composed of the rock itself and was of great size. The giant came at Ellendriana when she had just finished creating her place of power, a stone platform between three mountains. The giant, whose name was lost, was turned into the western mountains and his torso is still visible. The island inhabitants pay homage to Ellendriana and what once was a festival style worshiping grounds has turned into a city called Godmoot.

The third island is populated by Hobgoblins and Orcs. The hobgoblins have a harsh and cruel god that leads them to slaughter most in their path and make more hobgoblins. The orcs on the other hand worship a giant blue panther beast that was cast out of hell for killing other devils. They had a society based on solar alignment and giant stone ziggurats that reached towards the heavens. The ziggurats were made of polished obsidian. After many years of “peace” between the two tribes the hobgoblins wiped out over half the population of the orcs and made the rest into slaves. The dead orcs rose again as undead and are seeking ways to over throw the hobgoblins and reclaim their home.

The three islands for the most part have ignored each other, not wanting to draw attention to their own politics and problems with outsiders. The hobgoblins from the third island have started invading the second islands and have set up a small base camp on the southern shore. Some first islanders have made their way into the second island but tend to return home with tales of wonder or horror depending on their experiences.

Our story will start on the second island. The great tribes have gathered under the giant stone structure that Ellendriana calls home. The giantess has summoned the tribal elders and leaders, outsiders have been invading their coasts and must be secured. There are hobgoblins in the south, a fierce foe that has attempted to conquer the lands over the years, and to the north strange sails have been seen on the ocean. Ellendriana fears these might be signs of a more dangerous threat, fearing if the fire giants to the west gain allies they might try to overthrow her rule and the peace.

Barbarians, bards, druids, fighters, rangers, rogue, sorcerer, and warlock would be the most common classes with Satyr, Minotaur, Centaur, Catfolk, Lizard folk, Harpy, Raven folk, and Goliath being the best races for the campaign. For character statistics use the standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) from the players handbook. For satyrs we used the eladrin elf stats and for harpy we use the bird people the aarakocra. As the game has progressed I have been less strict about what classes and races are used. Magic is fickle so anyone can show up on these islands.

Races

Catfolk: the catfolk make up the ruling nobility on the island. Their ancestral heroes helped forge this land in the fire of battle, defeating an undead scourge and his army. Ever since the other peoples defer to the wisdom of the cat folk. Thunder’s Point is a magical research tower where aspiring mages from all peoples can go to learn spells and history.

Centaur: centaur patrol the wilds of the island, protecting the simple folk and relaying messages between the cities. Family groups migrate all the way from Northpoint to Sothen to the Scale Ways and up to Stone Den and Ethens, being struck by wanderlust. Many become merchants and traders and few become sailors.

Goliath: almost large sized stone men, goliaths are the builders on the island. Almost every impressive structure was built or planned by a goliath craftsman. Goliaths protect the border from their fortresses with the help from warriors and mages from all the peoples of the island. The goliaths also built the Northpoint Watchtower, where the goliath mage Feklin keeps an eye on the sea. The goliaths attribute their building skills to the living giant goddess Ellendriana.

Harpy: from their sanctuary of Cloudkeep the harpy have domain over the sky. They watch over the southern horizon looking for any sign of the hobgoblin airships that have attempted to make landfall in the past. Many of the harpy are entitled and stuck up, they lord their flight over the raven folk. The raven folk long for flight and believe if they serve the harpy the secrets of the sky will be shared with them.

Lizard folk: most live in the Scale Way, a swamp on the eastern side of the island. Their strange customs confuse travelers within the swamps and most of the wildlife proves deadly to the unprepared. The lizard folk once warred with the rest of the island but now work along side the other races to keep the lands safe from worse threats.

Minotaur: strong and hardworking, many minotaur find they are suited for mining, fishing, crafting, as well as battle. Many minotaur rent out their services as mercenaries. The minotaur live within Stone Den, a mountain city that descends into the caves and Northpoint, a fishing village of seafaring minotaur.

Raven folk: the raven folk live in the forests below Cloudkeep, they seek the secrets of flight and act as servants to the Harpy. Many raven folk make their way to Godmoot or Thunder’s Point seeking a better life.

Satyr: The satyrs are closely tied with the fey on the island and often work as intermediaries between the common folk and the ancient fey. Satyrs are also the second most common creature to encounter on the island, they outnumber the other races through sheer stubbornness on their part. Their ties with the rest of the fey helps supplement their forces with intense magics. Feyglen is where most of the satyrs congregate, many have taken to cultivating the lands of the Godmoot.

Known enemies:

Giants: various giants live on the western part of the continent. The fire giants are the most dangerous of the giants, there are plenty of ettins and ogres that work for the fire giants as well.

Gnolls: terrible hyena men raid and pillage many of the small villages. Most work for the giants and many have come to work for some strange satyr known as Blackfur.

Hobgoblins: militaristic goblinoids that attack settlements for sacrifice to their cruel god. They come from the southern island and have been a problem for far too long.

Undead: the ancient foe of the cat folk used undead minions. As of late many creatures have been rising from the grave marking the beginning of a dark time.

Pirates: the open waters between the islands has led to dangerous bands of pirates rising up and not only warring with each other but wrecking potential shipping lines between the cities and islands. 

If you like this campaign idea and want to know more send me an email at bookgnomeblog@gmail.com